Hayate's Memory
by Kirara the hyper
Summary: Hayate gets killed off on the Naruto show, prematurly ending his career as a TV personality. He decides to sing to cope. Based off the song Memory, from the oh so wonderful musical, Cats.


"Hayate...I'm sorry..." Tsunade muttered, her eyes not meeting the sickly ninja.

"Ah, whatever. I had a feeling they were going to-cough-kill me off anyway." Hayate said with a shrug.

He was still sad, though. He showed up in what, two episodes? Now they decided to kill him off this early? Those stupid movie people still had to film the rest of the series, which was going to take "three more years minimum," in their words. Damn, that meant he had to put his ninja skills to use and look like somebody else for god only knew how long. Sadly, his coughing habbit meant no no more speaking parts period. With a sigh, Hayate walked out of the Hokage's office and off the Naruto set for the last time.

The cresent moon shone on Hayate as he slouched around town, kicking a small pebble he unearthed on his way home.

"Moonlight..." Hayate muttered to himself. "I'll die by moonlight, apperantly. cough cough" he added bitterly. "Oh well...it's all just a memory, now." At that point, for no real reason, Gekko Hayate started to sing right there, in the middle of the dirt walkway.

"Daylight  
See the dew on the sunflower  
And a rose that is fading  
Roses whither away  
Like the sunflower  
I yearn to turn my face to the dawn  
I am waiting for the day . . . " He leapt into a tree, grabbed a branch, and leaned out toward the moon.

"Midnight  
Not a sound from the pavement  
Has the moon lost her memory?  
She is smiling alone  
In the lamplight  
The withered leaves collect at my feet  
And the wind begins to moan" Now, totally lost in the emotion of song, the coughing ninja went all out.

"Memory!  
All alone in the moonlight  
I can smile at the old days  
I was beautiful then  
I remember the time I knew what happiness was  
Let the memory live again

Every streetlamp  
Seems to beat a fatalistic warning  
Someone mutters  
And the streetlamp gutters  
And soon it will be morning" Hayate dropped down onto a stone wall, sank to his knees, and sang his sickly heart out to the moon.

"Daylight  
I must wait for the sunrise  
I must think of a new life  
And I musn't give in  
When the dawn comes  
Tonight will be a memory too  
And a new day will begin" As he started to walk home, Hayate sang, unconcerned by the strange looks he got from his fellow villagers. Now, all alone in his apartment, he could sing as loud as he wanted.

"Burnt out ends of smoky days  
The stale cold smell of morning  
The streetlamp dies, another night is over  
Another day is dawning" Then, in an "oh, why not?" moment, Hayate grabbed a bananna to use as a microphone, opened up the balcony window, and sang into the fruit like there was no tomorrow.

"Touch me!  
It's so easy to leave me  
All alone with the memory  
Of my days in the sun  
If you touch me  
You'll understand what happiness is-!"

"Hayate-kun?!" a severely surprised voice came from behind the amature Broadway singer.

"Eh? Shizune?!" Hayate coughed in surprise as he turned around to face his friend and next-door neighbor. Shizune was standing in the doorway to the bedroom, looking at her friend like he was a psycho.

"Er-uh-cough cough-What're you doing here?"

"This is my house..." Hayate looked around at the slightly unfamiliar scenary.

"Oh...cough So it is..." A dull pinkish-red color crept across the man's face in a spiderweb of embarassment. "I'm, er, cough cough-just going to leave, then..." The coughing ninja backed away from the woman, running into a small table and knocking over a vase.

"Oops! Er-sorry..." Hayate muttered, backing into the hallway and shuffling out of sight from Shizune. A moment or so later, he shuffled across the doorway.

"My-er, apartment's on this side..." he explained as he passed by, red as a tomato. Shizune stared at the doorway for a moment, which awhile later, Hayate darkened for a third time.

"Here's your, erm, bananna back." the ninja spun on his heel and almost ran out of the room, a chorus of coughing sounding until he slammed the door to his own house. Shizune walked over to her open door and looked over at her friend's door. He was actually a really good singer. He didn't even cough. With a sigh, the medic-nin finished Hayate's song, a light blush gracing her own face.  
"Look,  
A new day has begun..."


End file.
